Washington Blade - August 9, 2002
Rhonda Smith

"I do not consider this a crime. I do not consider myself a victim," the Aberdeen resident told the Blade. "And I honestly think any of the other 'victims' need to realize that when you have unprotected sex, you're taking a risk and you need to be responsible for yourself. Don't try and blame someone else because they didn't tell you something."

The man, who is not openly gay, spoke with the Blade on the condition that he not be identified. He said he fears losing his job and tarnishing his reputation if his involvement in the case is publicized.

A grand jury in May indicted Aberdeen resident William Kenneth Jenigen on six counts of intentional exposure to HIV, a felony in South Dakota. The grand jury indicted his life partner, Jay Lee Woods, on three counts of intentional exposure to HIV.

Each faces 45 to 90 years in prison on the charges, and their joint trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 16.

In a similar but unrelated case in South Dakota, an HIV-positive college student in Huron, S.C., pleaded guilty July 11 to intentionally exposing a woman to the virus that causes AIDS.

Nikko Briteramos, a 19-year-old basketball player from Chicago, could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine, the Associated Press reported. Sentencing is set for Aug. 20. Briteramos is the first person prosecuted in South Dakota under a two-year-old law that prohibits knowingly exposing someone to the AIDS virus.

Jenigen, one of the men facing charges in Aberdeen, recently contacted the Blade and said he and his partner are seeking financial help with their legal case and plan to create a legal defense fund. He and Woods are represented by separate public defenders.

Jenigen did not return subsequent calls from the Blade to discuss his case.

Mark McNeary, the state's attorney in Brown County, S.D., where Aberdeen is located, said his office's investigation revealed that Jenigen and Woods had sexual contact with numerous individuals but did not tell their sexual partners they were HIV-positive before the encounters. Each case involves three alleged victims, and both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

South Dakota's law makes it a felony to intentionally expose someone to HIV infection by engaging in sexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact.

The 39-year-old man who contacted the Blade said he had sexual relations without a condom with Jenigen as well as Woods, and that there are charges in his name pending again both men.

"I had heard the rumors of Bill and Jay's HIV-positive status," he said. "At the time, I took it to be gossip and rumor."

He later said: "Morally, they should have been more up front. But I do not believe a crime has been committed, and I am frustrated with the whole legal system." The man said someone he socialized with reported him and details about the sexual encounters and the men's HIV status to law enforcement officials.

"They knocked on my door and asked if they could ask me a few questions," the man said. "I agreed, not realizing the result would be charges filed in my name against Bill and Jay."

McNeary, the Brown County state's attorney, said the man was treated the same as all the other people who acknowledged having sexual encounters with either or both defendants.

"He came in voluntarily and gave the information that he had had consensual sexual encounters, and that he was not told specifically that the individuals were HIV-positive," said McNeary. "From the state of South Dakota's standpoint, it's left to the county state's attorney's office [whether to file charges]."

The unidentified man said he regrets answering the questions posed by a sheriff's deputy who came to his home to question him but did not know he had this option.

The man also said that he "very much" remains friends with Jenigen and Woods but that the relationship is strained because court officials have instructed him and others involved in the case not to have contact with the defendants.

In May, public defender Scott Kuck, who is representing Jenigen, said he planned to argue that his client's alleged sexual partners knew of his HIV status, even though he did not tell them about it.

Jennifer Ring, executive director of the ACLU of the Dakotas, said issues like the one facing Jenigen and Woods should be handled as public health matters and not legal cases. Making it a crime to intentionally expose someone to HIV might make a person reluctant to work with public health officials to help identify other partners with whom he or she was sexually active, she said.

News reporter Rhonda Smith can be reached at rsmith@washblade.com.

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